Australia: Geography & Regions

Geography

Australia is one of the world’s oldest land masses (some of its rock was formed over 3 billion years ago) and its largest island. Separated from other land masses, it evolved in partial isolation, resulting in its unique flora and fauna, and the development of the Aboriginal race, with a culture stretching back between 40,000 and 60,000 years. The country extends 3,200km/1,988mi from north to south and 4,000km/2,485mi from east to west, covering an area of 7,682,300km2 (2,966,144mi2), including Tasmania, with a coastline of 36,738km (22,826mi). It’s the world’s sixth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, China, the USA and Brazil) and is around the same size as the continental USA (minus Alaska), one and a half times the size of Europe (excluding Russia) and more than 30 times the size of the UK. Almost 40 per cent of the country lies north of the Tropic of Capricorn.

Australia lies in the southern hemisphere, south-east of Asia and between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Its nearest neighbour is Papua New Guinea (PNG), which is some 200km (125mi) north of Cape York in the north-west. Bali and other Indonesian islands lie off the north-west coast, and the French island of New Caledonia is situated to the north-east. New Zealand is around 1,700km (1,050mi) from the south-east coast, and to the south lies Antarctica. Australia is surrounded by four seas (Arafura, Coral, Tasman and Timor) and three oceans (Indian, South Pacific and Southern).

The Great Barrier Reef lies between 50 and 300km (31 to 186mi) off the north-east coast and stretches from the Torres Strait to Gladstone. It’s the largest coral reef in the world, extending some 2,000km (1,260mi) and encompassing an area of around 200,000km2 (77,226mi2). The reef is the world’s largest living entity and an important marine ecosystem containing many rare life forms (it’s also a World Heritage site).

Australia is the world’s flattest continent, with an average elevation of less than 500m/1,640ft (the world’s average is 700m/2,296ft) and only some 5 per cent of it is more than 600m/1,968ft above sea level. The Great Western Plateau covers most of Western Australia, a large part of the Northern Territory and South Australia, and part of Queensland. East of the plateau are the Central Eastern Lowlands, extending from the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north to eastern South Australia and the western Victorian coast. The Great Dividing Range (or Eastern Highlands) follows the east coast southwards from northern Queensland to southern Tasmania, separating a narrow fertile strip of land on the coast from the arid inland. The vast, flat inland plain is broken only by a few low mountain ranges such as the Flinders and Macdonnell Ranges, the Olgas and Uluru (or Ayers Rock, the largest rock on earth, 9.4km/5.8mi in circumference – if you’re tempted to climb it, bear in mind that it’s Aboriginal sacred ground and many people have died of heart attacks in the attempt!). Other mountain ranges include the Hamersley Range, the Kimberleys and the Stirling Range in Western Australia, and the Snowy Mountains (Australian Alps) in Victoria, where Mount Kosciusko is the highest point (2,230m/7,316ft) in Australia.

Australia has the lowest rainfall of any continent after Antarctica and evaporation exceeds rainfall in 70 per cent of the country. Surface water is scarce and most lakes (with memorable names such as Lake Disappointment) and rivers are dry most of the year. Much of the centre and west of the country consists of desert (some 1.5 million km2/579,195mi2). A third is desert or arid lands, some 55 per cent semi-arid and shrub lands, and only around 6 per cent is cultivated for crops or used for grazing. Australia has three main deserts, the Great Sandy, the Great Victoria and the Gibson, and several smaller ones. Lush forests are found on the east coast, particularly in the far north. The country’s longest rivers are the Murray, Darling, Ord and Swan. The main river is the River Murray which, with the River Darling, has a catchment area covering New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. Severe salting has occurred in recent years due to indiscriminate land clearing for agricultural use, which has reduced irrigation potential and lowered the quality of drinking water (if nothing is done, the Murray-Darling basin will be dead in 40 to 50 years).

Australia comprises six states (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia) and two territories (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory). The island of Tasmania (also called the Apple Isle) is larger than Denmark or the Netherlands and was founded by the Dutchman Abel Tasman in 1642 and originally named Van Dieman’s Land (changed to Tasmania in 1856). External territories include the Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island (the territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands). Macquarie Island (around 1,600km/994mi south-east of Tasmania) is administered by Tasmania.

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital of South Australia, named after Queen Adelaide, the consort of King William IV. It’s situated on the Fleurieu Peninsula, overlooking Gulf St. Vincent, with the low lying Mount Lofty Ranges sitting to the east. Adelaide is the main interim point of the Indian Pacific railway between Sydney and Perth, and the terminus of the Overland to Melbourne and The Ghan via Alice Springs to Darwin. Its population is 1.2 million, the fifth-largest of Australia’s capital cities, and its inhabitants are known as Adelaideans.

Adelaide is a beautiful city but it has lagged behind Australia’s other cities over the last 20 years or so. Some people regard this as an advantage because it means that the city is less frenetic than most of Australia’s other main centres. Others see it as negative and view Adelaide as a dull place, with few of the cultural and social attractions and little of the vibrancy of Australia’s other cities, which is unfair. Adelaide has long had a reputation as a religious city – it’s called the City of Churches – but this is more a reflection of the past than the present and it’s rumoured that for every church built in the city a pub was also built to see to the needs of the less holy. Adelaide in the 21st century has rather more nightlife than previously and enjoys its fair share of bars, cafés and restaurants. It’s also beautifully situated, with many parks and a backdrop of hills, as well as attractive beaches, galleries, historic houses and museums. In a 2005 survey of the world’s best cities in which to live, carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Adelaide was ranked joint fifth with Perth and Sydney.

One of Adelaide’s major attractions for potential immigrants is its inexpensive property. This is a particular draw for people working in vocational (and modestly paid) professions such as nursing and teaching, who can enjoy a higher standard of living in Adelaide than in Melbourne or Sydney. Adelaide’s climate is also reputed to be one of the best of Australia’s cities. The city is on the same latitude as Sydney, but its weather is quite different, more classically Mediterranean, with cooler, wetter winters, and hotter, drier summers – ‘proper’ weather.

Adelaide (and the rest of South Australia) was hamstrung financially following the 1992 collapse of the State Bank, which led to a debt of around $4 billion. This has recently been reduced, making the economic outlook for the next decade better than for the last. The major components of Adelaide’s economy are the defence, manufacturing and research industries. The city has General Motors Holden and Mitsubishi car manufacturing plants and the main government research institution, DSTO (the Defence Science and Technology Organisation). Other industries include electronic component production and ore refining.

Adelaide hosts a number of annual events (as well as being called the Wine State, Australia’s best-known wine region – the Barossa Valley – is located just outside the city, South Australia is known as the Festival State) including the Adelaide Festival of Arts, the Adelaide Film Festival, the Barossa Music Festival and the Fringe Festival. It’s also a respected seat of learning, with Flinders University, the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia all noted research and teaching institutions.

Alice Springs

Alice Springs lies at almost the exact centre of Australia, around 1,500km (935mi) from the nearest major cities, Adelaide and Darwin. Often called simply ‘Alice’, it’s the second-largest settlement in the Northern Territory, with a population of around 30,000. Alice is best-known for two things: its proximity to Uluru (Ayers Rock), one of Australia’s best-known landmarks, and as the setting for Nevil Shute’s novel A Town Like Alice.

Alice was established as a frontier settlement for the north-to-south camel trains that trekked across Australia’s desert interior, and today it’s the mid-point of the Adelaide to Darwin railway. During the ’60s, Alice became an important defence centre with the establishment of the joint Australian/USA Pine Gap satellite monitoring base, 19km (12mi) south-west of Alice. The base gives the city an American air (with a population of around 2,000 Americans).

By far the major industry is tourism, which developed because of Alice’s proximity to Uluru, 400km (250mi) to the west. But with the creation in the ’80s of Yulara resort and airport near Uluru, some tourists no longer visit Alice, heading straight for Yulara. However, it has plenty of other attractions including an arts centre, ballooning, camel tours, a casino, the Desert Park wildlife centre, a museum, plenty of nightlife and a number of tourist resorts. To serve its 500,000 visitors per year, Alice has plenty of backpacker lodges, caravan parks and hotels.

The economy of Alice is booming and it’s one of Australia’s wealthiest cities, its major sources of income including tourism, Pine Gap and high government funding directed towards the local Aboriginal population (Aborigines make up 17 per cent of Alice’s population and 29 per cent of the Northern Territory’s).

Alice’s climate is extreme with summer temperatures often reaching 40 to 42°C (and sometimes 48°C) and winter lows dropping to -7°C. There are also the large diurnal ranges (differences in temperature within a period of 24 hours) typical of deserts, with hot days and cold nights. There’s often little or no rain in Alice Springs, but the amount received can vary greatly from year to year.

Brisbane

Brisbane (pronounced BRIZ-buhn, with locals called Brisbanites) lies in the south-east corner of Queensland, an hour’s drive north of the Gold Coast. The city straddles the Brisbane River and its eastern suburbs look out over Moreton Bay. The greater Brisbane region sits on the coastal plain east of the Great Dividing Range, although parts of the city are very hilly.

Brisbane has a population of around 975,000, and 1.85 million people live in the greater metropolitan area. It has a lower population density than most Australian cities because much of the housing is detached homes on large plots of land, often with lush gardens. Pre-1950 houses are often built in the Queenslander architectural style, with large verandahs and built on stilts to maximise the circulation of cool air in this nearly tropical city (it’s situated just a few degrees south of the Tropic of Capricorn). An important consideration for those thinking of buying property in Brisbane is the discovery in 2001 of an infestation of fire ants in some suburbs. The state government is trying to eradicate the insects, but property in affected areas can prove difficult to sell.

Brisbane used to be regarded as a backwater, but is currently one of Australia’s major growth cities. It attracts a lot of migrants, both from within Australia and internationally, many drawn by its balmy, dry winter climate, when temperatures rarely drop below 21°C (70°F). On the downside, summers and autumns can be humid, rainy and stifling, with conditions particularly steamy between November and April. Summer thunderstorms are common and Brisbane is also prey to cyclonic winds and hailstorms. However, despite the usually humid summers with violent rainstorms, recent years have seen sometimes severe summer droughts.

Brisbane used to be seen as a ‘branch office’ city, as many major financial institutions and businesses have their headquarters in Sydney or Melbourne. To compensate for this, the Queensland state government has been developing science and technology industries throughout the state (particularly in Brisbane) as part of its ‘Smart State’ campaign. Brisbane has a diverse economy, with a wide range of blue and white collar industries. The former include metalworking, paper milling, petroleum refining and stevedoring, while the latter encompass financial services, higher education, information technology and public sector administration. Tourism is also important.

As well as its wide range of employment opportunities, Brisbane offers competitively-priced property (it has the lowest cost of living of any Australian city) and an attractive street café scene, but its most obvious drawback is its rather shabby city centre, which is well below the standard of Australia’s other major cities. Some people also consider parts of Brisbane to be tacky, particularly some of the tourist arcades, but the city also boasts some elegant architecture and impressive galleries, museums and parks.

In a 2005 survey of the world’s best cities in which to live, carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Brisbane was ranked joint eleventh.

Cairns

Cairns is in the far north of Queensland, 1,700km (1,060mi) from Brisbane. It was originally established as a port to export gold and other precious metals from the mines west of the city. Situated in the tropical north, Cairns used to be viewed as a frontier country backwater, but in the 21st century the city is booming thanks to tourism, the population has swelled to 125,000 and it has developed a more sophisticated image.

Cairns is successfully selling itself as a year-round tourist destination and is Australia’s third most popular tourist venue, after Sydney and Brisbane. It’s greatly assisted by having a wealth of natural wonders on its doorstep, including the Great Barrier Reef (an hour and a half away by boat), and Cape Tribulation and the Daintree National Park (both areas of tropical rainforest). Cairns is also the jump-off point for those visiting the Atherton Tablelands, Cape York Peninsula and Cooktown.

As part of the drive to modernise Cairns, the foreshore was redeveloped in 2003, with lagoons and the Pier Marketplace giving the city a more upmarket feel. The warm, tropical climate, with monsoon rains between November and March, is said to be similar to Hawaii, mention of which also adds to the city’s desired upmarket image. The climate, however, has its downside: cyclones sometimes arrive during the wet season and flooding of the Barron and Mulgrave Rivers can cut the city off from all road traffic.

Cairns’s economy relies heavily on tourism, which contributes around 40 per cent of the city’s income. Agriculture is also important and sugar is by far the largest crop. Fruit and tobacco are grown in the cooler, higher areas of the Atherton Tablelands west of Cairns, while fishing, manufacturing and mining also contribute to the economy.

Canberra

Canberra is Australia’s largest inland city (population around 330,000, making it the eighth most populous Australian city), lying at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory (population around 345,000). It’s the smallest state/territory capital, with the exception of Hobart.

Canberra is located near the Brindabella Ranges, around 150km (95mi) inland from the east coast, at altitudes between 550m (1,800ft) and 700m (2,300ft) above sea level. Its inland setting and height give it a more continental, colder climate than the stereotypical image of Australia and it has four distinct seasons. Winters can be cold but summers conform to the Australian norm – hot and dry – and skies are clear for much of the year. Being an inland city, Canberra doesn’t have beaches close by, but the surrounding countryside is noted for its beauty and in winter ski resorts are only a couple of hours drive to the south.

Like Adelaide, Canberra has a reputation for dullness (it’s often described as boring by Australians who haven’t been there), primarily because it’s a government city (it isn’t a popular destination for foreign migrants because most of the city’s jobs are in federal government and public service, for which Australian citizenship is required). The ACT authorities are trying to remedy this by attracting other industries to the city. A number of Australian Defence Force establishments are located in or near Canberra, although tourism is the city’s second largest industry (after government), visitors being attracted by Canberra’s large number of national institutions and monuments.

Canberra was a planned city (rather than one which grew organically), originally designed by Walter Burley Griffin (although it has been altered significantly) and created specifically as the country’s seat of government. It’s situated roughly halfway between Melbourne and Sydney (it’s closer to Sydney) because neither could agree on which city should be the seat of government, thereby necessitating an alternative!

The pre-planning explains why Canberra is so orderly, tidy and easy to navigate (unlike most cities, the roads were designed with motor traffic very much in mind, giving quick access and minimal congestion), but also why it’s rather soulless, and nothing like as lively as Melbourne or Sydney. That said, Canberra does have some excellent bars, cafes and restaurants, and it’s a picturesque city, with some interesting galleries and museums.

Darwin

Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, lies in the far north-west of Australia on the coast of the Timor Sea, and is home to 115,000 people. It has a diverse multicultural population, with over 75 nationalities represented. Nearly a quarter of Darwin’s population describe themselves as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. Darwin’s geographical position (facing south-east Asia) gave it the distinction of being the only Australian city to have come under substantial attack during the second world war (by Japanese aircraft).

Until recently, Darwin was regarded by many Australians as a sweaty tropical backwater stuck at the top of the country, but it’s currently one of Australia’s fastest growing cities. This is because of its physical proximity to the economic powerhouses of Asia (Darwin is closer to Jakarta than Sydney, and closer to Singapore than Melbourne, and is known as the Gateway to Asia), the building of the Alice Springs to Darwin railway line and fuel extraction in the Timor project. Its isolation, however, means that the cost of living is higher than in most other parts of the country.

The Northern Territory’s modest economy and small population mean that the job market in Darwin isn’t as broad-based as elsewhere in Australia. But if you’re looking for an exciting and unusual place to live, Darwin is worth considering. Mining and tourism are the largest economic sectors. The most common minerals are bauxite, gold and manganese, along with natural gas and oil from the Timor Sea. There’s also a significant military presence in Darwin (and some other parts of the Northern Territory), which is an important source of employment.

Darwin should grow in importance as a port, the result of the increasing petroleum exploitation in the Timor Sea and growing trade with Asia. Tourism is also important and is increasing as more visitors come during the wet season (November to March or April) as well as the dry season (most of the rest of the year).

Darwin has a ‘new’ feel, mainly because much of it had to be rebuilt after the 1974 ‘visit’ of Cyclone Tracy, which flattened a lot of the city. If you don’t like hot, humid, tropical weather, however, Darwin isn’t for you. The wet season can be particularly taxing for those who don’t like stifling conditions and the city is also prey to cyclones and tropical thunderstorms.

Geelong

Geelong is Victoria’s largest regional city, a port of 205,000 people on Corio Bay, 70km (45mi) south-west of Melbourne. It’s the gateway to the tourist resorts of the Bellarine Peninsula and the Great Ocean Road. Although linked to nearby Melbourne by motorway, Geelong feels like a place apart, mainly because it’s surrounded by large areas of farmland. The surrounding region is also noted for its wineries and surfing beaches.

Geelong’s main industries are aluminium smelting, a Ford Motor company engine plant and a Shell refinery, and the nearby town of Torquay is home to surfing equipment and clothing manufacturers. Geelong hosts some notable events, including the annual Bells Beach Surfing Classic and the Australian International Airshow. The city has been rejuvenated in recent years by a programme of urban landscaping and the building of new accommodation, galleries, museums, restaurants and a university. The latest stage of this is the installation of new artworks, paving and planting.

The Gold Coast

The Gold Coast is a coastal strip in the south-east of Queensland 70km (45mi) south of Brisbane, along which a number of modest settlements have gradually merged into a city of around 480,000 people. It has become Australia’s sixth-largest city and largest tourist resort, the sub-tropical climate, impressive surf beaches and some clever marketing having combined to attract domestic and international tourists, and a fair number of retirees. As well as tourism, construction, manufacturing and retailing are important sectors of the Gold Coast’s economy.

The Gold Coast is Australia’s equivalent of a Spanish holiday Costa, a narrow coastal strip densely covered with bars, high-rise apartments, hotels, nightclubs, restaurants (over 500) and a plethora of shopping centres and retail establishments catering largely to tourists. Its most impressive feature is its 50km (31mi) of beaches, the most famous of which is Surfers Paradise. The hinterland of the Gold Coast is very different from the coastal strip, an impressive region of mountains, national parks, rainforest and valleys.

Hobart

Hobart lies on the Derwent River estuary in south-east Tasmania and is home to around 195,000 people (taking in the Greater Hobart area). It’s a small, picturesque city and a busy seaport, the home port for Australia’s (and France’s) Antarctic activities. Hobart is famous in the yachting world as the finish of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, which begins in Sydney on Boxing Day (26th December). Hobart is Australia’s most southerly capital city, noted for its atypical climate, which is cooler and cloudier than the tourist brochure image of Australia: temperatures rarely exceed the mid-20s Celsius (mid-70s Fahrenheit), even during the height of summer. Conditions are similar to northern France and southern England, and Hobart and its surrounds appeal to people who enjoy this type of weather and the presence of plenty of rugged, unspoiled greenery on their doorstep.

Finding a job can be difficult in Hobart, however, unless you have specific skills that are currently in demand, and wages tend to be lower than in the rest of Australia, but so are property prices, and the island offers a superb lifestyle. The city’s vibrant tourist industry is an important source of employment and other employers include the Cascade Brewery, a high-speed catamaran factory and a zinc smelter.

Hobart is a small, manageable city, which adds to its charm, as do its riverside location, busy harbour, impressive Georgian architecture, parks, mountain backdrop and surrounding vineyards. It reminds some people of Ireland, with its slower pace of life and slight air of melancholy, and backdrop of lush green countryside.

Launceston

Launceston (pronounced LON-ces-ton) sits at the junction of the North Esk, South Esk and Tamar Rivers in north-east Tasmania and is the state’s second-largest centre, after Hobart, with which it has a strong (but friendly) rivalry. Launceston has a population of 100,000 and is the regional centre for commerce, culture, education, health, recreation, retail and tourism.

It’s an attractive, low-rise, quiet city, with many gardens and parks. As Australia’s third-oldest city (after Sydney and Hobart) it has lots of historical buildings and sights, and offers good local hiking and swimming spots. Launceston has rather less nightlife than some cities (some people think there isn’t much to do) but is a stone’s throw from one of Tasmania’s natural wonders, the Cataract Gorge. The nearby Tamar Valley has excellent vineyards, and Launceston’s Boags Brewery produces some of Australia’s best beers.

Launceston’s key industries are community services, manufacturing, retailing and wholesale. Important secondary industries include agriculture, fishing, forestry and tourism.

Melbourne

Melbourne (pronounced MEL-buhn) is situated on the south coast of Victoria in the far south-east of Australia and is the most southerly mainland capital city. It’s a large commercial and industrial centre, with plenty of large Australian companies and multinational corporations (around a third of the 100 largest multinationals operating in Australia are located here). Melbourne also has Australia’s largest seaport, seven universities (it has one of the highest numbers of international students studying in its universities, after London, New York and Paris) and much of the country’s automotive industry, among many other manufacturing industries.

Sometimes overlooked in favour of glamorous, high profile Sydney, Melbourne is often described as a more ‘liveable’ city, with a much better road system and cheaper property (around a third less). Melbourne is Australia’s second-largest city, with a population of around 3.5 million, and was the capital between 1901 and 1927.

Melbourne’s main disadvantage (for some people) is probably its climate, which is less reliable than Sydney’s, with a consequent effect on lifestyle, which is less al fresco in Melbourne. Winter, spring and autumn are quite a lot cooler and greyer in Melbourne than in Sydney, but Melbourne’s summer climate is sometimes better than Sydney’s because it’s nearly as warm but less humid. Melbourne’s summers can be changeable, however, with temperatures swinging from a fresh 19°C (66°F) one week to a sweltering 40°C (104°F) the next and then back again, depending on the prevailing wind.

Melbourne more than compensates for its unpredictable climate, however, and it often ranks highly in surveys of the world’s best cities in which to live (twice, in 2002 and 2004, it’s was first in the survey by The Economist, and was placed second in 2005, after Vancouver).

Melbourne is reputed to have the best food in Australia (there are plenty of restaurants) and also offers elegant Victorian architecture, attractive parks and a large, lively arts and cultural life (including the annual Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival, and a rock and pop scene that Melburnians regard as the country’s liveliest). Rather than culture, however, Melbourne is known as one of the world’s most sports-mad cities. It hosts nine of the 16 teams in the Australian Football League (Australian Rules Football, not soccer) and hosts the Australian Open Tennis (one of the four Grand slam tournaments), the Melbourne Cup (one of the world’s most prestigious handicap horse races), top cricket matches and the Australian Formula One Grand Prix.

Newcastle

Little-known outside Australia, Newcastle in New South Wales is the country’s sixth-largest city, with a population of 485,000 in the metropolitan area (which includes the Cessnock, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Newcastle and Port Stephens local government areas). Residents of Newcastle call themselves (slightly clumsily) Novocastrians.

Newcastle lies 160km (100mi) north of Sydney, at the mouth of the Hunter River. The river’s north side is dominated by river channels, sand dunes and swamps, so most of the city is on the hilly southern bank. Newcastle is the economic centre for the resource-rich Hunter Valley and much of northern New South Wales. It’s the world’s busiest coal export port and Australia’s oldest and second-largest throughput port (whatever that means), and also has an important shipbuilding industry. As well as its industrial side, Newcastle has a vibrant youth culture. The University of Newcastle has over 20,000 students and the city has a thriving music scene: Silverchair, one of Australia’s most successful rock bands, hail from Newcastle.

Unfortunately, the city is prey to occasional earthquakes. A 1989 earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale killed 13 people, the first Australian tremor known to have claimed human lives. On the plus side, Newcastle enjoys an almost subtropical climate and has some spectacular beaches.

Perth

Perth is a sprawling city cited on the Swan River in the south-west of Western Australia. To the east of the city lies a low escarpment, the Darling Scarp, but Perth is generally flat. Perth’s western suburbs fringe the city’s fine beaches, which are less (over)developed than in some Australian cities. The Perth Metropolitan Area has a population of 1.45 million, making it Australia’s fourth-largest city.

Perth has become popular with foreigners wishing to buy property in Australia, particularly the British. It has the highest proportion of British-born residents of any Australian city, and there has also been substantial immigration from South Africa, mainly of European-descended South Africans. Perth also has large immigrant communities from south-east Asia.

Perth has something of the air of southern California (without the high crime, racial tension and alarming proximity to the San Andreas Fault!) and many people think it has the best climate of Australia’s cities, with short, mild winters, long, hot, dry summers and plenty of sunshine all year. However, the climate has changed in recent years, with less rainfall. This, combined with the city’s population growth, has led to concerns that Perth might soon run out of water. As a result, household sprinkler restrictions have been introduced and the State Government is building a seawater desalination plant at Kwinana, due to be finished in late 2006. The authorities are also considering piping water from the tropical Kimberley in the north of the state.

Perth boasts a vibrant economy, splendid beaches and parks, and modestly-priced property. It has a large middle class and offers a suburban lifestyle, meaning that nightlife is relatively limited. The locals are usually friendly and relaxed, but they can be rather parochial, particularly towards east coasters (who view Perth as an isolated backwater). Perth’s main disadvantage (to some people) is its isolation, tucked away in the south-west of the country, with its nearest large neighbour (Adelaide) three and a half hours away by air. Perth isn’t just Australia’s most isolated city but, along with Honolulu, lays claim to be the world’s most isolated.

In a 2005 survey of the world’s best cities in which to live, carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Perth was ranked joint fifth with Adelaide and Sydney.

Sydney

Sydney is Australia’s oldest and largest city. It’s also the largest city in the southern hemisphere by area and has around 4.7 million inhabitants. The majority of Sydneysiders are of British or Irish origin, with notable populations hailing from Asia, Greece, Italy and the Lebanon. Sydney is the larger of Australia’s two main cultural, financial, trade and transport centres, the other being Melbourne. It has a magnificent location in a coastal basin, with the Pacific to the east and the Blue Mountains to the west. It has the largest natural harbour in the world, Port Jackson, and over 70 beaches, of which Bondi is the most famous. Sydney’s urban area is similar in size to Greater London, but has only half the population.

Sydney overshadows Australia’s other cities, sometimes unfairly. But it’s undoubtedly an enticing place, a noted world tourist destination and regularly voted one of the world’s most beautiful cities, noted for its stunning waterside location, iconic attractions, trendy ambience, great restaurants, sophisticated outdoor lifestyle, abundant shopping, friendly locals, cosmopolitan culture, vibrant economy and warm climate. Its international profile was significantly increased by hosting the 2000 summer Olympics, which were widely regarded as the best of recent times.

Despite all these attractions, Sydney isn’t for everybody. If you’re childless (or child-free), sociable and relatively wealthy, it’s a wonderful place to live, but if you have children and a modestly paid job, the city’s high property prices (it’s much more expensive than the rest of Australia, even in the outer suburbs) make it difficult to find decent, affordable accommodation anywhere which isn’t a long, tortuous commute to the city centre, and you might be happier and more solvent in Adelaide, Brisbane or Perth.

Sydney’s climate isn’t to everybody’s taste either, with quite high rainfall throughout the year (its generally wetter than London, for example, although there have been recent droughts) and regular periods of windy and humid weather. It’s hit by hailstorms and windstorms every few years and water shortages are an increasing problem. Sydney doesn’t suffer from cyclones and its earthquake risk is low, but many areas which border bushland have been affected by bushfires, notably in 1994 and 2002.

In a 2005 survey of the world’s best cities in which to live, carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Sydney was ranked joint fifth with Adelaide and Perth.

Townsville

Townsville is a city of around 160,000 in the central section of the stretch of Queensland coast opposite the Great Barrier Reef. It’s the largest city and capital of tropical Queensland. The Townsville area is sometimes called the ‘Twin Cities’ because it includes the cities of Thuringowa and Townsville.

Townsville has some notable attractions, including a long beach and garden area known as ‘The Strand’, an impressive tropical aquarium, the Museum of Tropical Queensland and nearby Magnetic Island (20 minutes across Cleveland Bay), mostly comprising national park and some excellent beaches.

Tourism has helped Townsville to grow in recent years and it’s also an industrial port for exporting minerals from Cloncurry and Mount Isa, beef and wool from the western plains, and sugar and timber from the coast. Townsville also has a number of manufacturing and processing industries, and refines copper, nickel and zinc. There’s a large army base at Lavarack Barracks and an airforce base at Garbutt.

Wollongong

Wollongong is an industrial city 82km/50mi (by rail) south of Sydney. Its name comes from an Aboriginal term meaning ‘sound of the sea’ and the city is sometimes referred to simply as ‘The Gong’.

Wollongong has an impressive setting, on a narrow coastal plain, with the Tasman Sea to the east and a steep sandstone precipice to the west. The city has a population of 185,000, but the wider metropolitan area is home to around 260,000. Wollongong has a high proportion of residents with a Mediterranean background, with a prominent Macedonian community and plenty of immigrants from Italy, Greece and Turkey.

In recent years, Wollongong has attracted a lot of people moving from Sydney to escape the capital’s high property prices, traffic congestion and increasing crime. Wollongong’s cheaper property and good transport links with the capital have seen some people move to the outer suburbs while keeping their jobs in Sydney. The city’s major employers include construction, education, health, manufacturing and retailing.

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory occupies, by Australian standards, a tiny area (2,358km2/910mi2), and is wholly surrounded by New South Wales. It’s dominated by Canberra, Australia’s capital city, and has a population of around 345,000, the vast majority of whom live in and around Canberra.

Small towns in the ACT include Hall, Naas, Tharwa and Williamsdale. There’s a modest amount of agricultural land (dairy cattle, sheep and some vineyards) and a large area of national park (Namadgi National Park), much of it forested and mountainous.

The ACT has internal self-government, but doesn’t have the legislative independence of the Australian states. Its major industries, by far, are government and public service, and others include advanced technology (including communications, computing and electronics), hospitality, research and development, and tourism.

New South Wales

New South Wales is Australia’s oldest and most populous state, covering 809,444km2 (312,445mi2), and is home to over 6.8 million people. It lies in the south-east of Australia, north of Victoria and south of Queensland. Its three main cities, from north to south, are Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong, all on the coast. Sydney is by far the most significant city (not just in New South Wales, but in Australia). Important New South Wales towns include Albury, Armidale, Broken Hill, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, Lismore, Nowra and Tamworth.

New South Wales contains two Federal enclaves: the Australian Capital Territory (see above) and the Jervis Bay Territory. Jervis Bay (pop. around 750) was purchased from New South Wales so that Canberra would have access to the sea. It’s a natural harbour, situated 150km (95mi) south of Sydney, and is a separate territory from the ACT, but is treated as part of it for most practical purposes.

New South Wales is divided geographically into four sections: a narrow coastal strip, with climates ranging from cool temperate in the south to subtropical towards the Queensland border; the mountainous Great Dividing Range, with many peaks over 1,000m (3,280ft) and the highest, Mount Kosciuszko, reaching 2,229m (7,308ft); the agricultural plains that cover much of the state, with a much lower population than the coastal strip; and the thinly populated dry plains of the north-west.

New South Wales’s economy is based around agricultural and pastoral industries, large coal reserves, a varied manufacturing sector and sophisticated service industries. The agricultural and mining sectors earn almost half of the state’s export revenues. The major manufacturing products are chemicals, electrical goods, fertilisers, machinery, metal products and processed foods.

The Northern Territory

The Northern Territory lies in the central northern part of Australia and has only 1 per cent of the country’s population (around 200,000, often known as Territorians), despite covering a sixth of the Australian continent, 1,420,968km2 (548,495mi2). Sizeable settlements are rare and include the capital Darwin, nearby Palmerston, Katherine (near the bottom of the Top End, see below) and Alice Springs, in the desert 1,500km (935mi) to the south. Small settlements are scattered around much of the Northern Territory, but the larger centres are all found on the state’s one sealed road, the Stuart Highway (known locally as ‘the track’), linking Darwin to South Australia.

The Northern Territory is home to some spectacular rock formations and scenery, which are major tourist attractions. Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) are the most famous rock formations, while the Kakadu National Park in the north of the state contains some remarkable wetlands and wildlife. Most of the Northern Territory (around 80 per cent) lies within the tropics and the 6,200km (3,870mi) coastline is generally flat, backed by mangroves, mudflats and swamps, while much of the interior is plateau with some mountain ranges. The northern quarter of the state is known as the ‘Top End’, a region of savannah, woodlands and pockets of rainforest.

The isolation and frontier spirit of the Northern Territory are an attraction for some people, but conditions can be harsh, particularly the gruellingly hot climate, and the Northern Territory’s alcohol consumption is one of the highest in the world, estimated to be an impressive (or appalling) 1,120 standard drinks per person per year.

The Northern Territory’s economy is based on cattle (the state has some huge cattle stations, covering thousands of square kilometres), mining (including bauxite, copper, diamonds, gold, manganese, silver and zinc) and seafood. The state also has reserves of natural gas, oil and uranium.

Queensland

Queensland covers 1,852,642km2 (715,120mi2) of the north-east of Australia and is home to around 3.8 million people. The northernmost part of the state is the Cape York Peninsula, a huge triangular area that tapers towards New Guinea. To the west of Queensland lies the Northern Territory, to the east is the Pacific Ocean and to the south is New South Wales.

Queensland’s population is less centralised than the rest of Australia, with Brisbane having only 45 per cent of the state’s population, against a national average for state capitals of around 64 per cent. The state is home to the largest city (by area) in the world, Mount Isa, which covers over 40,000km2 (15,440mi2). The year-round warm climate of Queensland is an attraction for many immigrants (but puts off others, as does the humidity that often accompanies the heat) and another draw is the fact that Brisbane has the lowest cost of living of Australia’s state and territory capital cities.

Queensland’s major industries are agriculture (especially bananas and pineapples, along with a wide range of other tropical and temperate fruit and vegetables), cattle, cotton, mining (including bauxite, coal and copper), sugar cane and wool. Retail and tourism are also important to the economy. The Great Barrier Reef is a major tourist draw for Queensland. It’s the world’s largest coral reef, over 2,000km (1,250mi) long, and can be seen from space. The reef is sometimes inaccurately described as the world’s largest living organism, although it’s actually many separate coral colonies.

South Australia

South Australia is situated in the southern central part of the country, along the Southern Ocean. It covers an area of 984,377km2 (379,970mi2) and has a population of around 1.575 million, most of whom live in the fertile coastal areas and in the Murray River valley. South Australia has borders with all mainland states and territories except for the Australian Capital Territory. It consists mainly of arid and semi-arid rangelands, with several low mountain ranges. In the west of the state is the thinly-populated Nullarbor Plain.

South Australia’s economic growth has lagged behind the rest of Australia for some time (partly because of the collapse of the State Bank in 1992), although its performance is improving. The state’s main industries and exports are wheat, wine and wool, and over half of Australia’s wines are produced in South Australia. German immigrants fleeing religious persecution brought with them the vine cuttings that founded the famous wineries of South Australia’s Barossa Valley. Clare Valley, Coonawarra and McLaren Vale are other noted South Australian wine areas. Manufacturing is also important to the state’s economy, generating 15 per cent of GDP, particularly car and component manufacturing, defence technology and pharmaceuticals. South Australia is known as the Festival State (because of the annual festivals held in Adelaide) and as the Wine State.

Tasmania

The island state of Tasmania is situated 240km (150mi) south of the south-east corner of the Australian mainland, separated from it by the Bass Strait. It’s thought that Tasmania was joined to the mainland until the end of the last ice age, around 10,000 years ago. The state covers 68,332km2 (26,383mi2) and has a population of around 460,000. It’s the only Australian state with any land to the south of the 40th parallel and is known as the apple state due (unsurprisingly) to the large amount of apples grown there.

Tasmania’s capital and largest city is Hobart, which comprises the cities of Clarence, Glenorchy and Hobart. Other major population centres include Launceston in the north and Burnie and Devonport in the north-west. The sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island is under Tasmania’s administration.

Tasmania is a rugged island with a temperate climate, regarded by some early English colonists as so similar to pre-Industrial England that they dubbed it ‘Southern England’. Geographically, much of Tasmania is similar to New Zealand (which isn’t something that would impress the average Aussie!), but because it hasn’t been volcanically active in recent geological times, its mountains are softer and more rounded than New Zealand’s.

The island’s most mountainous region is the Central Highlands, which covers much of the central western parts of Tasmania. The Midlands (the central eastern area) is flat by comparison and is mainly used for agriculture. The west coast has high rainfall, sufficient to power hydro-electric schemes, and the area is also important for mineral production. The south-west of Tasmania is particularly densely forested and the National Park has some of the southern hemsiphere’s last temperate rainforests. Most of Tasmania’s population lives on and around the coastal rivers, the Derwent and Huron in the south, and the Mersey and Tamar in the north.

Tasmania has the smallest revenue of Australia’s states, with an annual budget similar to Brisbane’s. The island’s economy has, for a long time, been temperamental. This has been attributed to different reasons at different times, including: not having a gold rush; a lack of federal infrastructure; too small a population; a decline in the mineral and wool markets; and a lack of foreign investment. A significant drain on the state’s economy is the continuing exodus of people, particularly the young, to the mainland seeking better job opportunites.

Tasmania’s main industries are agriculture, forestry, mining (including copper, iron, tin and zinc) and tourism. Major employers on the island include the government, the Federal Group (which owns Tasmania’s two casinos) and Gunns Limited, the state’s largest forestry company. Some Australian companies have also moved their call centres to Tasmania. Manufacturing has declined greatly in recent years, adding to the exodus of people to the mainland, in this case experienced, trained workers.

Tasmania’s economic ups and downs, as well as the relative isolation of life on an island, have made some Tasmanians see themselves and the world differently from the majority of mainlanders. This is reflected in the island’s large arts community and strong environmental movement. But the environmental community has often had a divisive effect in Tasmania because its work has led to large areas of the island being conserved as national parks and other protected areas. This has severely limited economic development in these areas, most notably for the forestry and mining industries. Environmentalists argue that this is more than compensated for by the fact that a pristine environment attracts more tourists and retirees to Tasmania. There may be something to this: the island’s historic sites, unspoiled environment and temperate climate have made Tasmania an increasingly popular choice with retirees, keen to escape the mainland’s bushfires, coastal (over)development, droughts and heat.

Victoria

Victoria lies in the far south-east of the country and is Australia’s smallest mainland state by area (csovering 237,629km2/91,725mi2). Its northern border is the south bank of the Murray River, the river itself being part of New South Wales. South Australia lies to the west and there’s ocean to the east and south.

Victoria has a population of around 5 million, making it Australia’s most densely populated state. The capital, Melbourne, is home to some 70 per cent of the state’s population and dominates Victoria’s culture, economy and media. But Victoria has many other attractions, including the Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape, skiing in the Victorian Alps and tours around the state’s wine producing areas. Victoria is also the base of a particular local passion, Australian Rules Football, and is home to ten of the 16 major league clubs.

Historically, Victoria’s economy relied on brown coal mining, gold mining and offshore oil drilling, and still does, to some extent. In 1851, gold was discovered at Ballarat, then at Bendigo and subsequently at sites all over Victoria, triggering one of the world’s largest gold rushes.

Melbourne is an important manufacturing and service centre, but agriculture dominates Victoria’s economy, boosted by the fact that the state has reasonably rich soils and a temperate, wet climate, compared with the rest of Australia. Major agricultural exports include beef and dairy cattle, sheep products (lamb and wool) and wheat (mainly from the drier western half of the state). Wine grape production is becoming more important, particularly as some of Australia’s wine makers are seeking favoured cooler regions of the country in order to make more sophisticated, subtle wines.

Victoria’s climate varies from the wet, temperate conditions of Gippsland in the south-east, to the alpine climate of the snow-covered mountains (Mount Bogong is the state’s highest peak, at 1,986m/6,515ft) and the extensive semi-arid plains of the west and north-west. Owing to its reasonably high rainfall, Victoria has an extensive network of rivers.

Western Australia

Western Australia is Australia’s largest state, covering the westernmost third of the Australian mainland. It covers 2,645,615km2 (1,021,205mi2) and borders South Australia and the Northern Territory. Western Australia’s population is around 1.95 million, many of whom live in the state capital Perth and the surrounding area. Western Australia is the country’s fastest growing state and has the lowest unemployment rate. In recent years it has had the highest rate of overseas migration (the majority from the UK), outnumbered only by arrivals from other Australian states.

Perth lies on the south-west coast of the state (and the country), and the Perth Metropolitan area has grown to include the port of Fremantle and the town of Rockingham. Other important centres in Western Australia include Albany, Broome, Bunbury, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie and Port Hedland, but all are small. The south-west coastal area of the state is the best suited to human habitation, being relatively temperate and forested, while much of the rest of Western Australia is very hot and semi-arid or desert, and lightly populated. One exception, weather-wise, is the northern tropical region, especially the Kimberley.

Western Australia’s economy has long been largely based on the extraction and export of mining and petroleum commodities, especially alumina, gold, iron ore, natural gas and nickel. The state is a leading alumina extractor and produces over 20 per cent of the world’s aluminium. Western Australia is the world’s third-largest iron ore producer, with around 16 per cent of global output, and extracts around 75 per cent of Australia’s 240 tonnes of gold each year.

Agricultural exports are important to Western Australia, especially barley, sheep products (meat and wool) and wheat. Tourism is growing in importance, with most of the state’s visitors coming from the UK, Ireland, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia.

© Survival Books Limited 2006

“Buying a Home in Australia & New Zealand” 1st Edition, Graeme Chesters.
Reproduced with the permission of Survival Books Limited.

Further information on this topic can be found in “Buying a Home in Australia & New Zealand” 1st edition, by Graeme Chesters.

For extensive information about buying a property in Australia & New Zealand, you can purchase this book at www.survivalbooks.net